Grammar as a phenomenon – a subsystem of language as a linguistic discipline

14. The category of voice

Voice is a category of the verb that indicates the relationship between the subject and the predicate verb of the sentence. The voice of the English verb is expressed by the opposition of the passive form of the verb to the active form of the verb. (binary opposition)

Active – passive

Asks⁻ – is asked⁺

Meaning of the category of voice – what changes is the subj. appraisal of the situation by the speaker, the plane of his presentation of it. Voice shows the relation of the action towards its subject and object (doer and recipient)

The active voice: action issuing from the object
The passive voice: action directed towards its object

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  So the category of voice denotes the direction of an action as viewed by the speaker.
  

Voice is a morphological category but it has a distinct syntactic significance.
The active voice has obligatory connection with the doer of the action.
The syntactical subject and the semantic subject coincide.
The passive voice has obligatory connection with the object of the action.

The category of voice is observed both within finite and non-finite forms of the verb:

The Inf: to ask – to be asked

The gerund/ Part I: asking – being asked

NB!

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  Only Part I has the opposition of the forms
  
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  Part II has no morphological category as it has only one form => no opposition of forms
  
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  Part II can be passive/ perfect in meaning
  

Voice is a language specific category. In English it is a property of the lex. –sem. Variants of 1 verbal passive constructions. More frequent in English than in Russian.

Relations denoted by passive voice in English are often expressed by cases in Russian: We were met.. –Нас встретили

In English not only transitive but also some intransitive verbs